The New South Wales Department of Justice was a

state government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or ...

agency in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, that operated under various names between 2009 and 2019. In 2019, most of its functions were absorbed by a new

Department of Communities and Justice The New South Wales Department of Communities and Justice, a government department, department of the Government of New South Wales, is responsible for the delivery of services to some of the most disadvantaged individuals, families and communiti ...

. The department was responsible for the state's justice system –

court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance ...

s, prosecutions,

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

s – and most

emergency service Emergency services and rescue services are organizations that ensure public safety and health by addressing and resolving different emergencies. Some of these agencies exist solely for addressing certain types of emergencies, while others deal wit ...

agencies. The department was known as the Department of Justice and Attorney General (2009–2011), the Department of Attorney General and Justice (2011–2014), the Department of Police and Justice (2014) and finally the Department of Justice (2014–2019).

History

The re-organisation of the legal system of Colonial New South Wales led to the creation of the Attorney-General, an appointed law officer. Following the creation of self-government in 1856, the position of Attorney-General became an officer appointed by the Government of the day from within the membership of the

Parliament of New South Wales The Parliament of New South Wales is a bicameral legislature in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), consisting of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly (lower house) and the New South Wales Legislative Council (upper house). Eac ...

. In 1901, the Department of Attorney General and the Department of Justice were amalgamated into the Department of the Attorney General and Justice. In 1911, two separate branches of the department were established, later called divisions which continued until the 1970s. Responsibility for police and corrective services were removed from the department in the 1970s; and by 1991 the Department of Courts Administration was split out of the department. Some four years later, the two departments were merged to reform the Attorney General's Department. The Justice portfolio was re-established in 2009 through the creation of a new Department of Justice and Attorney General, abolishing the old Attorney General's Department. The headquarters of the department was at the Goodsell Building in Chifley Square. In 2008 the department's main business centres were relocated to newer offices in

Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...

. Following the 2011 state election the department was merged with Corrective Services and renamed to its current name. On 23 April 2014 it was decided that the department would be renamed the Department of Police and Justice. Subsequent government initiatives lead to the department becoming the Department of Justice. Following the 2019 state election the department merged with the Department of Family and Community Services and most of the functions of both departments were transferred to the newly formed Department of Communities and Justice.

Agencies administered

The following agencies were administered by the department until its abolition: * Crown Solicitor's Office *

Fire and Rescue NSW Fire and Rescue New South Wales (previously known as New South Wales Fire Brigades), an agency of the Government of New South Wales, Australia, is responsible for firefighting, rescue and HazMat services in the major cities, metropolitan areas ...

Guardianship Tribunal of New South Wales The Guardianship Tribunal of New South Wales, a former tribunal, specialist disability tribunal of the Government of New South Wales for people with cognitive incapacity, or disability operated between 1989 and 2013. The Tribunal was superseded b ...

*Information and Privacy Commission *Inspector of Custodial Services *

Juvenile Justice NSW The New South Wales Department of Juvenile Justice, known between 1991 and 1993 as the Office of Juvenile Justice, was a State government agency in New South Wales, Australia, that managed juvenile detention centres and other aspects of the youth ...

*Legal Aid NSW *

Liquor & Gaming New South Wales Liquor & Gaming NSW is an agency of the Government of New South Wales, that is part of the Customer Service cluster. Liquor and Gaming NSW is responsible for the development, implementation and integrity of the regulatory framework for liquor s ...

NSW Crime Commission The New South Wales Crime Commission is a statutory corporation of the Government of New South Wales. It is constituted by the Crime Commission Act 2012, the object of which is to reduce the incidence of organised crime and other serious crime ...

*NSW Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages *

NSW Rural Fire Service The New South Wales Rural Fire Service (NSW RFS) is a volunteer-based firefighting agency and statutory body of the Government of New South Wales. The NSW RFS is responsible for fire protection to approximately 95% of the land area of New South ...

*NSW Trustee and Guardian *

Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is the office or official charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several criminal jurisdictions around the world. The title is used mainly in jurisdictions that are or have been members o ...

*Office of the New South Wales Sheriff *

State Emergency Service The State Emergency Service (SES) is the name used by a number of organisations in Australia that provide assistance during and after major incidents. Specifically, the service deals with floods, storms and tsunamis, but can also assist in oth ...

References

{{reflist

External links

Department of Justice archived website
*

The New South Wales Victims Compensation Tribunal The Victims Compensation Tribunal of New South Wales is a former tribunal of the Government of New South Wales that was established to determine the amounts that may be awarded to victims of crime for personal injury in New South Wales, a state o ...

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

Legal organisations based in Australia 2011 establishments in Australia 2019 disestablishments in Australia Government agencies established in 2011 Government agencies disestablished in 2019